(just gonna post with Tem for now)
Autem | Male | Medice | Cat | Location: Alleyway | Mentions: Quinten, Loki

The flea bitten dog stuck close to his new companion, scouring their surroundings for bodies or suspicious looking dogs. Or cats. He felt safe next to Quinten, the hulking beast of a dog a constant shadow to little Tem. A good shadow, though. He kept pace with the deer hound with relative ease, taking two steps for every one of of Quinten's. The blood trail was glaringly easy to follow and the hound seemed to have that under control so he tuned his eyes and ears into the shadowy alleyways and looming buildings, ready for an ambush. But none seemed to come. Instead the wiry hound muttered something under his breath, and Autem's sharp ears picked up 'imbecile and 'mucking up the evidence'. He didn't quite know who Quinten was discussing, but perhaps it had to do with the lingering scent of dog over the blood trail.

Then, the deer hound's already large strides became even longer as he glided across the pavement, Tem trotting rapidly after him. He recognized Ranger almost instantly, and a warm smile was tossed the hound's way. The second dog, however, was a mystery. Quinten's aggressive interrogation drew a rapid, nervous response from the female. Tem couldn't blame her, he'd be nervous if the easily three times his weight and twice his height dog had turned those fangs on him. The evidence she dropped as he revealed her role in the corpse's journey was quite intriguing. The fur was a pale white, and Tem came quickly under Quinten and through his front legs to pin the hair to the ground. No use for it to blow away while the deer hound debated the wanderer's fate. The fur sure as hell didn't match hers, and it was white as opposed the silver, the color of the hair around the bloody pavement where the corpse had first been discovered.

"I suppose we should look at the corpse, then?" A post mortem examination had been the sole reason for Autem's company, and he was eager to try and piece together the puzzle of the cat's death. Whether or not this dog was part of the picture had yet to be determined, so the cattle dog tipped his caramel muzzle up quite a bit to seek Quinten's gaze. "What should we do with her? She might have more to add then what she's telling us."

Asterion|6 years|Male|Maine Coon|Seeker|Location: Alleyway|Mentions: Redeye, Bellefleur, Atrox

The view from the last stair, close to the roof was clear. The wind was stronger there. Asterion rarely climbed up to roofs, so he forgot what is it like. But now he hadn't got time to enjoy it. He had a task to complete.
His eyes were fixed on the reddish colour of the roof, while kept his ears turning to the other direction. Quiet sounds of pawpads stepping were heard. Asterion hadn't got time to even look behind, to see what is it, when suddenly a white fur appeared. Redeye. The big tom was relieved to see that it wasn't a stranger. Redeye had a cheerful voice as he enumerated his questions. After some seconds, the Maine Coon started to answer. "Well, hello there. We saw the pool of blood, but not the body. Atrox organized a search for it. Bellefleur and I need to climb to the roof to see if there's anything weird or the corpse is near. He didn't told us anything else, so you should look for him, if you want to know more."

Ranger | 5 Years Old | Male | Dog | Contender
Location: Streets, Near Train Station | Mentions: Loki, Quinten, Autem

Hearing approaching pawsteps, Ranger tensed, his gaze quickly sweeping over to the side, but he relaxed when he realised that the approaching canines were members of Simul. Quinten was easily recognisable, and, trailing at his heels, was the Autem. Ranger did wonder for a moment what might have happened to prompt the Medice to leave camp, but that question was soon answered when Quinten demanded to know where 'the body' was. He almost stepped back in surprise when the Wanderer gave in, spitting small clumps of fur at their feet and insisting that she had nothing to do with the situation. Was this female a suspect for a murder? He looked back up to her, his gaze critical. It was a very good thing that he hadn't let her wander off.

His ear twitched, listening in on Autem as he whispered something about finding the corpse to Quinten. He was concerned, to say the least. He had no idea whose body they were searching for, or any of what had transpired since he'd left camp, to be honest, but he couldn't ask more questions in front of this lone dog. All he knew right now was that there was a body that needed finding - so that's what he would focus on. He stepped towards her. "Lead us to the body." He didn't snarl the command, the dog already seemed terrified, and they needed her to not be a trembling mess if she was going to help them, but he spoke in a stony tone that indicated he wasn't to be disobeyed. "This will look much better on you if you cooperate with us."

Bellefleur | 3 Years Old | Female | Cat | Brawler
Location: Rooftops | Mentions: Asterion, Redeye

Bellefleur made quick work of climbing the fire escape, keeping up with Asterion's long strides by swiftly leaping from step to step. When they reached the roof of the building she took a moment to enjoy the cool breeze. "Ah, this is more like it," she said, padding over to the edge of the roof and peering back down to the alleyways. She began to strategise, glancing at the buildings around them to see if there were any tall ones which would offer a good vantage point. They'd probably need to move out. The murderer wasn't likely to be hanging around so close to the crime scene. Before she could voice her ideas, however, a new voice broke the silence.

She glanced over her shoulder, her gaze landing on Redeye, who was bouncing towards them enthusiastically. She let him prattle on, waiting for him to calm down a little before strolling over to join him and Asterion. She nodded along to Asterion's words, confirming that he would, indeed, have to speak to Atrox if he wanted to know more. "I doubt you'll get much out of him though, he's pretty worked up," she added. "You could join us, though. You happen to see anything suspicious around the city this morning?"

Quinten | 3 Years | Male | Scottish Deerhound | Seeker | Location: Camp | Mentions: Autem, Ranger, Loki

Quinten recoiled as the suspect spat something toward him, strands of white fur wet with saliva landing on the cement at his feet. Autem was quick to react, sliding under his towering frame and pinning the soaked evidence down with a paw. Ordinarily, the action would have evoked some ire, but currently, there were more pressing matters in demand of his attention. Stepping over the smaller male and moving to stand beside him, the hound's hazel gaze scanned their evidence critically. Despite the lack of color consistency, it was still possible the fur could've come from the same corpse. Tem's questions saw Quinten's eyes lift to meet his, but Ranger seemed content to take charge, and an answer from him proved unnessacary.

Loki did as asked, retreating further into the city with the three of them at her heels. A sharp pang of pity and sympathy caused his lip to curl slightly, annoyed he should feel anything for the brainless mutt. For all he knew this was all an act and the girl was a vicious murderer, pushing a ruse of fear. Finally, her pawsteps faltered, and she motioned toward a nearby tree. He could see the outline of the body from where he stood but held back as Ranger and Autem went to investigate, keeping en eye on the stranger instead.

He watched with an impassive expression as she settled down a few paces away, witnessing the capture and subsequent release of the beetle. Another performance? Or a genuine act of compassion? She seemed distracted, eyes growing distant. He rose to his paws, the click of his nails on the pavement signifying his approach. "Why did you take in the first place?" He asked, tone lacking its former hostility. "You must have known we would find the body eventually, it was on our territory, could've been one of our own. Why wouldn't you just leave it?"

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Redeye | 2 Years | Male | Oriental Shorthair Mix | Brawler | Location: Streets | Mentions: Bellefleur, Asterion

After being filled in Redeye seemed to consider his options, peering back down into the alleyway as if he expected Atrox's dark from to materialize from the shadows. Tracking down their leader and pestering him for more information was tempting, but Bellefleur and Asterion's mission also sounded rather promising. "A bit odd, don't you think? Asking such a task of you with barely any intel? Suppose that adds a bit of spice to things though, we have no idea what to expect!"

Bellefleur inquiring whether or not he'd spotted anything odd on his jaunt through the city resulted in a tilt of his head. Resting back on his haunches, a paw raised to touch his chin, as if he were thinking especially hard about it. "Only a dog drowning a mouse. Tried to question him, but the brute was as thick as a brick wall. Couldn't get a solid answer out of him." Steeping closer to the roof's edge, he glanced all around them, as if hoping he might find something right off the bat. "So where should we start looking?"

Asterion|6 years|Male|Maine Coon|Seeker|Location: Roof|Mentions: Bellefleur, Redeye

Asterion swiftly leaped on the roof and glanced on the view below them, narrowing his eyes, as the sunbeams shined toward him. "I don't think so we'll see much from here. The taller buildings block the view, so we can't really see far. Still we should check what's from here, then if nothing's strange, we climb on a taller one."
The dark furred tom walked to the edge of the roof, his yellow eyes scanning the streets, noticing every detail that could be important. But everything was the same, as he last saw these parts of the streets. Suffocating silence and signs of the scavenging wanderers: overturned containers and trashcans. Nothing else that would awaken a feeling of discomfort in the tom.
Asterion's toughts circled around the bloody pavement. He wondered why a cat or a dog would do something like that. It surely wasn't a predator. Those only kill for food. At least if wanderers start to kill each other, Simul won't have more problems with them. His eyes borrowed the usual dull stare as he aimed a last glance to the streets, while his body turned toward the other two felines, Redeye and Bellefleur. He never really had to do much with them. His rank wasn't meant to patrol and guard Simul, so his relationship with these two wasn't more than membership in the same group.Though, he hadn't gotten closer to the others, he still sensed an ally bond, probably because of the mutual goal: surviving.
He took some steps closer to his fellow companions and directed his attention to them. "Do you see anything weird?"

(just gonna post with Tem for now; it's late and I have to be up early tomorrow. And sorry for the break, I haven't had much energy but if you kids are good with trucking along I am too.)

Autem | Male | Medice | Cat | Location: Alleyway | Mentions: Quinten, Loki, Ranger

The speckled little dog followed close on Quinten's heels, short legs zooming along with each of the hound's long, effortless, sloping strides. Erect ears were pointed forward as this strange, lithe wanderer lead the way. When she stopped suddenly Autem peered around the massive Deerhound's bulk to see if they'd arrived. A quiet whine from the stranger reached Tem's ears and his brow furrowed before she continued. Did she have something to hide they were now forcing her to show? Or was she afraid they would persecute her for a crime she didn't commit? Either way, Tem realized they were entering a part of the city he rarely ventured to. He'd never seen the trains run, had no idea the noise or steam they made, or their use, but he'd been here once with his mother to gather herbs. He'd been intimidated by the hulking trains, now iron corpses rotting alongside the other remnants of humanity. Frankly, it was depressing, lifeless, surreal. Tem never went back.

But now, here he was, returning to this curious graveyard, for a rather morbid reason. The wanderer indicated a tree and Tem went eagerly towards it, glad to finally have a job to occupy his speckled paws. He set to work digging, nails and toes soon stained dark with mud. Pale fur came to light, followed by a rib cage, a tail, and finally, a head. Any other dog might have hesitated, momentarily stalled by death upon such a familiar face, but Tem dragged the body out and set to work. It was encrusted in dirt, most likely from the burial, and the fur stuck up in unnatural, curious ways. The most prominent feature, however, was the guts. Or lack thereof. Ribs were exposed all the way down to the floaters, the cut clean and neat, almost surgical. Odd. Said bones were still in one piece, not even cracked, closed over the hollow abdominal cavity as if they still had precious, life sustaining organs to protect.

Inside those perfectly intact ribs was nothing. Absolutely nothing. No heart, lungs, intestines, stomach, kidneys, liver, any organ that resided in the abdomen was gone. Tem didn't know enough to be able to name each organ, recall its function, and correctly identify its place, let alone how many organs a cat had, but he knew it was a lot. And he knew they were gone from this cat. Curiosity piqued, the cattle dog carefully turned the cat over, checking for any wounds or incisions on the head. He was wondering if the brain had been taken as well. The skull appeared intact and untouched, and despite the pained, desperate expression frozen on the poor creature's face, it exhibited no other physical signs it had been attacked. Carefully, Tem checked paws and teeth for any fur or skin that might have come off the attacker, but none could be found. Except the chunk Tem had taken from the wanderer. He just hoped it hadn't been so saturated by saliva as to lose its scent. At the moment, it was their only clue. He turned to Quinten and Ranger, the tuft of pale hair still held delicately between his incisors. "Should we try and see if the hair has a scent? And what should we do with the wanderer?"